1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for implementing a channel and a product comprising at least one channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various production methods can be used for creating channels in components. In the case of mechanical machining, cylindrical through boreholes are created by drilling or milling. Milling is suitable in particular for manufacturing internal channels having a variable cross section, for example, for transitions in a cross section from square to round. Undercuts are also implementable in this case. Disadvantages in this case are the relatively complex CNC programming and the achievable surface quality, which is only inadequate, since machining grooves occur during the milling. Further machining steps are thus required after the milling, by which the surfaces can be smoothed. These method steps, for example, honing, grinding, and polishing, are often linked to a high level of effort and costs, however. A further mechanical production method is drilling. Internal channels may only be implemented as cylindrical cross sections, for example, by stepped boreholes, however.
Alternatively, the desired components can be manufactured in the injection molding method. In this case, variable cross sections may be produced by special mold technologies and undercuts may be implemented by the use of spring-loaded ejectors or collapsible cores. Through boreholes having a variable cross section without undercuts can be created by appropriate cores in the tool. Sufficient demolding bevels must be provided by the shrinking behavior of the melt during cooling in the mold. In the event of excessively long cores in the injection molds, core misalignment can occur during the injection operation in the event of unfavorably designed gating. This results in different wall thicknesses in the component. To minimize the core misalignment, mold cores are frequently partitioned in the middle on the ejector side or nozzle side. In this case, however, a mold parting line results at the meeting point of the two core halves. Furthermore, the high costs of the molds are disadvantageous in the injection molding method.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a simple and cost-effective production method for creating channels in components having high surface quality. It is furthermore the object of the present invention to provide a product comprising at least one channel, which can be produced simply and cost-effectively, and which has a high surface quality of the channels.